Thermoplastic based sulphur nanocomposites

ABSTRACT

A thermoplastic sulfur-polymer composite comprises a thermoplastic polymer, such as polyethylene and polystyrene; and a sulfur element. Such sulfur element functions as passive sulfur filler in this composite. The thermoplastic polymer is a polymer matrix; and the sulfur filler is dispersed in the polymer matrix. There is no chemical reaction occurs after the addition of the sulfur filler into the host polymer and no chemical bond formed between the polymer and the sulfur filler. The thermoplastic sulfur-polymer composite can be a nanocomposite by either adding certain nanofillers into the composite or making the sulfur filler as sulfur nanoparticles. With its similar physical properties and lower manufacturing costs, the thermoplastic sulfur-polymer composites are good alternatives of the respective pure polymers.

RELATED APPLICATIONS

This application claims Priority from Provisional Application Ser. No.61/729,551 filed on Nov. 24, 2012, and incorporated by reference hereinin its entirety.

FIELD OF THE INVENTION

The present invention relates to the polymer based thermoplasticcomposite. In particular, it relates to the thermoplastic composite ofpolymer and sulfur, which has a higher stiffness as measured by themodulus of elasticity and relatively low manufacturing costs.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

Thermoplastic, also known as thermosoftening plastic, is a polymer thatbecomes pliable or moldable above a specific temperature, and returns toa solid state upon cooling. Most thermoplastics are polymers, and hencehave high molecular weights. In the present invention, the thermoplasticpolymers can have linear, branched, ladder, dendritic or otherstructures. The chains of such polymer thermoplastics associate throughintermolecular forces. This property allows thermoplastics to beremolded because the intermolecular interactions spontaneously reformupon cooling. The thermoplastic polymers differ from thermosettingpolymers (thermoset), which form irreversible chemical bonds between thepolymer chains. And in case when such bonds break down, they will notreform again upon cooling.

Regarding thermoplastic polymers, within a temperature range above theirrespective glass transition temperatures and below their melting points,the physical properties of the thermoplastic polymers change drasticallywithout associated phase changes. Within this temperature range, mostthermoplastics are rubbery materials due to alternating rigidcrystalline and elastic amorphous regions. Some thermoplastics do notfully crystallize above glass transition temperature, retaining some, orall of their amorphous characteristics.

Based on the type of the polymers that made the thermoplastic materials,various thermoplastic materials may have different properties and hencevarious applications. In addition, will the addition of various fillers,the properties of thermoplastic polymers can be significantly reinforcedor altered. Various fillers can be added into the polymer matrix to formnew polymer products. For example, some filler may be much cheaper thanthe polymer. Thus by using such filler, the manufacturing costs could belowered. In addition, the addition of some filler may enhance certainvaluable properties of the host polymer. Moreover, the addition ofcertain filler may even bring new properties to the host polymer.

Furthermore, sulfur, as an important additive, has been widely used invarious polymer products, such as rubber, which is a thermosettingpolymer. The process of vulcanization is the critical step for modernrubber production. Vulcanization is a chemical process for convertingrubber or related polymers into more durable materials via the additionof sulfur. The vulcanized materials are less sticky and have superiormechanical properties. Hence the vulcanized rubber can be used formaking tires, hoses, belts, etc. However, such rubber vulcanization is avery different process than the process of the present invention to makethe disclosed composites. First, rubber is a thermosetting polymer thathas very different response when heated. After being cured (hardened),the thermosetting polymer will not melt or perform deformation again.While the thermoplastic polymers disclosed in the present invention,when heated, will become soft and thus can be reprocessed many times byrecycling. Second, in vulcanization, the added sulfur will performchemical reaction to promote the formation of cross-links between thepolymer chains. The cross-links introduced by vulcanization with sulfurprevent the polymer chains from moving independently. However, in thepresent invention, the added sulfur, as the filler, only physicallyfills the spaces within the polymer matrix. There is no chemicalreaction occurs; and no cross-link has been formed following theaddition of sulfur.

Moreover, sulfur has been reported to be added into the thermoplasticpolymers, too. However, in that case, there is actually chemicalreaction occurring. New chemical bond is formed, and certain propertiesof the thermoplastic polymers have been altered. Thus the final productis a new type of sulfur-rich poly-conjugated polymer. The newly gainedproperties may make the product suitable as electroactive or conductingmaterials.

Furthermore, the thermoplastic polymers can also be made intonanothermoplastic polymers. Nanocomposites are a group of multiphasesolid material (matrix and filler), where one of the phases (usually thefiller) has at least one dimension of nanoscale (less than 300nanometers (nm)). In this way, the mechanical, electrical, thermal,optical, electrochemical and catalytic properties of the nanocompositewill differ markedly from those of the component materials. One easy wayto make the polymer nanocomposite is appropriately adding nanoparticlesto a polymer matrix. And this can enhance its performance, oftendramatically, by simply capitalizing on the nature and properties of thenanoscale filler. The normal nanofillers used in this context areceramics, clays, and certain carbon nanostructures, such asnanoplatelets or nanotubes.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

All illustrations of the embodiments are for the purpose of describingselected versions of the present invention and are not intended to limitthe scope of the present invention.

The present invention focuses on a product which incorporates elementsulfur as a component (filler) in the formulation of variousthermoplastic polymers. A few examples of the thermoplastic polymersapplied in the present invention are polyethylene, polystyrene and etc.The composite products made in the present invention differ from otherprior products.

The polymer components used in the present invention and the polymercomposite generated in the present invention are both thermoplasticpolymer materials. Their properties are largely the same or relativelyreinforced via the process disclosed in the present invention. Theadditive component, the filler, used in the present invention is theelement sulfur, not sulfur compound. Furthermore, elemental sulfur couldbe in any allotropic forms or combination of these forms. Additionally,the allotrope could be in cyclic, linear chain-like form or combinationof these forms.

Additionally, there is no chemical reaction occurs, no new chemicalbonds between sulfur and the thermoplastic formed following the additionof sulfur. Sulfur can react with itself, but not with the thermoplastic.In the process disclosed in the present invention, there is onlyphysical process occurring. Moreover, no cross-link is formed betweenthe chains of the polymers after the sulfur addition. Therefore,concerning the properties of the final product, they are very similar tothose of the polymer component used to make the final product, exceptcertain physical property, such as the stiffness, of the final producthas been strengthened. For instance, when sulfur and the polymer ofpolyethylene are blended, they are only physically blended. If there isany chemical reaction occurring between the two components, it could beconfirmed by the results from the spectroscopy studies. We have doneRaman spectroscopy on various sulfur-polyethylene composites. We foundthat all the peaks were from either sulfur or polyethylene. No new peakshave been observed, suggesting that there is no chemical reactionbetween sulfur and polyethylene. Normally, if there is a chemicalreaction, then Raman spectra would be able to demonstrate certain newpeaks due to the formation of new chemical bonds. The role of sulfur inthese disclosed sulfur-polymer composite is to provide mechanicalenforcement to the host polymer. As passive filler, the sulfur isimbedded inside the polymer; and it doesn't affect the polymerstructure. It is possible that the sulfur filler may carry out otherfunctions, such as to be a barrier of gas diffusion through the polymercomposite.

Therefore, the major advantages of the present invention reside in thefollowing two aspects. First, the filling component (sulfur) is cheaperthan most of the respective host polymer materials used in the presentinvention. So, the using of sulfur in the polymer composite productioncan lower the manufacturing costs. In this way, with sulfur as thefiller, what's been generated as the final product is a polymer productwith a relatively enhanced (stiffness) property and relatively lowmanufacturing costs. Additionally, under the pretty mild andconventional reactive conditions, all of the current available polymerproduction equipments can still to be used to make the new sulfurpolymer composite products; there is no need of any new equipment or ofretrofitting the equipments. For example, in the process of making thesulfur-polyethylene composite, the relatively inexpensive filler(sulfur) is used to achieve the same properties of the host polymer(polyethylene). As the production equipments and conditions are roughlyno significant difference, it is reasonable to assume that themanufacturing process costs are largely the same. Therefore, the productof sulfur-polyethylene composite is less expensive compared to purepolyethylene, because the sulfur component is cheaper than polyethylene.Further, this composite product can be used to replace the purepolyethylene. The new composite generally achieves the same properties,but it costs about 10-15% less than the original polyethylene. Thus, itwill be a suitable alternative to the pure polyethylene.

Second, the element sulfur added into the polymer can be specificnano-size sulfur particles. The sizes of the sulfur nanoparticles arewithin the nanoscale of from 1 to 100-300 nm. In addition, othernanofillers such as certain carbon nanostructures comprising variouslow-dimension allotropes of carbon including carbon nanotubes, the C60family of buckyballs, polyaromatic molecules, carbon nanoplatelets,graphene and etc, can be added into the sulfur-polymer composite toenhance the composites' nanoproperties. Also, such nanostructures can beadded into a polymeric sulfur (a form of the sulfur element) to furtherstabilize the polymeric sulfur. In the latter case, it can be achievedby processing the sulfur with the nanostructures at a temperature abovethe polymerization temperature of sulfur. And later on, the process ofmaking sulfur polymer composite has to be performed at 160° C. or evenhigher. In the polymer nanocomposite field, clay is usually used as thenanoparticle for making such nanocomposites. Considering the processingmethod, chemical treatment has to be done to the clay before it can beused to make the nanocomposites; while for the sulfur disclosed in thepresent invention, there is no need for such chemical modification.

Nanopolymers have many dramatic and very valuable properties. Most ofthese important nanoproperties are due to the vast increase of the ratioof surface area to volume. The exponentially increased surface areamakes it possible for new quantum mechanical effects. One example is the“quantum size effect” where the electronic properties of solids arealtered with great reductions in particle size. In addition, a certainnumber of physical properties may also be altered in the nanomaterials.The added nanoparticles, such as the sulfur nanoparticles of the presentinvention, can strongly influence the mechanical properties of thepolymers, such as stiffness and elasticity. The nanotechnologicallyenhanced materials may enable a weight reduction accompanied by anincrease in stability and improved functionality. In this way, accordingto the present invention, the application of sulfur nanoparticles in thepolymer matrix to form the nanosulfur-polymer composite is able toprovide the new polymer nanomaterial with certain valuable properties;and therefore they can find important applications in many differentindustrious areas.

Moreover, the combining of element sulfur and thermoplastic polymers isa unique feature itself. It has not been reported previously. It is truethat the polymer sulfurization has been reported before. However, inthose processes, the sulfur functions in a chemical reaction and isinvolved in the formations of bonds or cross-links between the polymerchains. Therefore, there were chemical reactions occurring and newmaterials forming in those examples. Also, the reaction conditions ofthose sulfurization processes and of the process disclosed in thepresent invention are very different. The reaction condition of thepresent invention is pretty mild and conventional; hence there is noneed of new special equipments. Therefore, the process of the presentinvention can be scaled up without the need of custom-designedequipments.

Due to the fact that in the sulfur-polymer composite, there is nochemical bond formed between the host polymer and the filler sulfur,these two components actually can be separated so as to remove onecomponent from the composite and thus produce a new product. Forexample, the sulfur can be “leached out” by adding a solvent that canselectively dissolve the sulfur but not the polymer (such aspolyethylene). On the other hand, it is also possible to selectivelyremove the polymer and keep the sulfur. In the first case, a porouspolymer will be produced. In the second one, a porous sulfur structurewill be produced. In this way, more various products can be producedfrom the same formulation. These porous materials can be used in manyapplications.

The products of the disclosed sulfur polymer thermoplastic compositesmentioned herein can be used in several applications. For example, whenthe polymer component used in the present invention is polyethylene, thedisclosed sulfur-polymer composite can be used to make pipes, bottles,packages, cables, coatings and polymer beads. While the polymercomponent is a different type, such as the aromatic polyamide polymer,the properties and application areas would be different.

The composites disclosed in the present invention can be made throughdifferent approaches. In each approach, mixing of the two components,the thermoplastic polymer and the sulfur element, is the key step formaking the disclosed thermoplastic composites. The mixing can be made ina number of different ways, such as mixing by applying heat, applyingpressure, applying heat and pressure; mixing in a common solvent, insupercritical fluids; by extrusion, molding, melting, pressing; by insitu polymerization; by sonication processes; or by ionic liquidprocessing.

One major polymer component used in the present invention is thepolyethylene, especially the low density polyethylene as commonly knownin the plastic industry. Moreover, it can be selected from a widevariety of different polymers, such as acrylonitrile butadiene styrene(ABS), acrylic (PMMA), celluloid, cellulose acetate, cycloolefincopolymer (COC), ethylene-Vinyl Acetate (EVA), ethylene vinyl alcohol(EVOH), fluoroplastics (PTFE, alongside with FEP, PFA, CTFE, ECTFE,ETFE), ionomers, kydex, liquid crystal polymer (LCP), polyacetal (POM orAcetal), polyacrylonitrile (PAN or Acrylonitrile), polyamide (PA orNylon), polyamide-imide (PAI), polyaryletherketone (PAEK or ketone),polybutadiene (PBD), polybutylene (PB), polybutylene terephthalate(PBT), polycaprolactone (PCL), polychlorotrifluoroethylene (PCTFE),polyethylene terephthalate (PET), polycyclohexylene dimethyleneterephthalate (PCT), polycarbonate (PC), polyhydroxyalkanoates (PHAs),polyketone (PK), polyester, polyethylene (PE), polyetheretherketone(PEEK), polyetherketoneketone (PEKK), polyetherimide (PEI),polyethersulfone (PES), polyethylenechlorinates (PEC), polyimide (PI),polylactic acid (PLA), polymethylpentene (PMP), polyphenylene oxide(PPO), polyphenylene sulfide (PPS), polyphthalamide (PPA), polypropylene(PP), polystyrene (PS), polysulfone (PSU), polytrimethyleneterephthalate (PTT), polyurethane (PU), polyvinyl acetate (PVA),polyvinyl chloride (PVC), polyvinylidene chloride (PVDC),styrene-acrylonitrile (SAN), polydimethylsiloxane (PDMS), polysilanes,polythiazyls, polystannane and polyphosphazene.

The present invention will next be described with reference to therelated exemplary embodiments.

Polymer A was dissolved in a solvent X, and sulfur was also dissolved insolvent X. Then the two solutions were mixed and the solvent was removedthrough film casting and drying process. A composite (or nanocomposite)is therefore formed, wherein the sulfur is dispersed in the hostpolymer. Such formed thermoplastic sulfur polymer A composite can beused as is, or can be reshaped or reprocessed.

Polymer B was heated above its melting temperature. Sulfur was nextadded to this melt polymer B. And the product would next be extruded.The composite (either conventional blend composite or nanocomposite)would be used as is, or can be reprocessed to make for specific shapefor certain applications.

In the present invention, the polymer A can be polystyrene, poly(methylmethacylate), polyamide, and so on. The polymer B can be polyethylene,polypropylene, poly(methyl ethacrylate), polycarbonate and etc. Thesolvent X can be Toluene, carbon disulfide, dimethyl sulfoxide, and thelike.

The following are two examples of the procedures whereby the disclosedsulfur-polymer composites are made.

The composite can be made through a melting process:

-   -   1) Polyethylene (polymer B) is fed to an extruder operating        above the melting temperature of the polymer. In one experiment,        this temperature is 140° C. The extruder consists of twin-screws        co-rotating at 100 RPM. The extrusion process is done under the        inert condition by flowing nitrogen gas through the extruder        barrel.    -   2) Sulfur is fed to the extruder after the step 1). The        polyethylene and sulfur are co-extruded at a specific        temperature for a specified period of time (in this experiment,        it is 1 minute).    -   3) After the process of extrusion is finished, the molten blend        is rejected from the extruder and collected into a container.    -   4) The mass fraction of sulfur is controlled by varying the        amount added to the extruder or by reprocessing a master batch        of known sulfur/polyethylene mass fractions.

In this example, the equipment used in the processing is a commercialextruder, which is the common equipment in polymer processing. Otherprocessing equipments that can be used as well include batch mixer,injection molding machine, and so on.

The composite can also be made through a solution blending process:

-   -   1) Sulfur is dissolved in Toluene (an organic solvent).    -   2) Polystyrene is dissolved in Toluene in a different container.    -   3) Sulfur Toluene solution is mixed with polystyrene Toluene        solution in a fixed proportion to produce a sulfur-polystyrene        solution in Toluene    -   4) The solution is cast onto a glass container and the Toluene        solvent is dried.    -   5) When all solvent is dried and removed, a continuous film        containing sulfur-polystyrene and sulfur is produced.

On the other hand, the component sulfur element used in the presentinvention could be specifically prepared. For example, the sulfur byitself can be polymerized to generate the “polymeric sulfur”. However,one major drawback of this method is that such “sulfur polymer” is proneto undergo the process of de-polymerization. It is possible that byextruding sulfur with thermoplastic that sulfur will undergopolymerization and will produce “polymeric sulfur” inside the composite(nanocomposites). Furthermore, polymeric sulfur can be made stableinside the composite by virtue of this physical mixing.

The mechanical properties of these composites were relatively improved.And they could be further improved with process optimizations. The Table1 below shows the mechanical properties (such as stiffness) of thepolymer composites made with 0, 2.5, 5, 10 and 20 percentages (massfraction percentage) of sulfur loading. Concerning Young's modulus,which is the most commonly used index to measure material's stiffness,in comparison of the value of Young's modulus of the pure polymer (0% ofsulfur) and that of the composite with 20% sulfur, Young's modulus(stiffness) has been increased by roughly at least 5-10% (from about 142MPa to about 159 MPa). This at least ˜5-10% increase in modulus isdecent and can be further improved. In addition, other mechanicalproperties do not decrease with the addition of element sulfur.Regarding the other two physical properties, elongation at break (%) andultimate strength (MPa), it appears that there is no significantdifference between the polymers with or without the sulfur addition.Further, the optical properties of the new composite are different thanthose of the native polyethylene. For example, the native polyethylene(with no sulfur) is translucent but when sulfur is added, the compositesbecome opaque. This opaqueness depends on the sulfur loading.

TABLE 1 Summary of the mechanical characterization for the producedsulfur polymer composites Sulfur Young's Elongation Ultimate strengthcontent Modulus (Mpa) at break (%) (Mpa) 0 142 ± 8 64 ± 4 13 ± 0.4 2.5152 ± 6  50 ± 15 13 ± 0.3 5 162 ± 3 61 ± 4 12 ± 1  10 159 ± 6 60 ± 4 13± 0.3 20 159 ± 9  65 ± 10 12 ± 0.5

In general, one major unique aspect of the present invention is that theproduction of the disclosed composites can be produced or manufacturedwith the existing thermoplastic processing and manufacturingtechnologies. There is no need to replace or modify any of the currentlyused devices or equipments in order to make these disclosed compositeproducts. On the other hand, the sulfur element is incorporated into thehost (matrix) polymer without the implication of any chemical reactionsand of the formation of polymer chain cross-links. There is onlyphysical process involved in the composite formation of the presentinvention. Furthermore, the physical properties of the produced sulfurpolymer composite are either the same, or relatively enhanced.

Although the invention has been explained in relation to its preferredembodiment, it is to be understood that many other possiblemodifications and variations can be made without departing from thespirit and scope of the invention as herein described.

What is claimed is:
 1. A thermoplastic sulfur-polymer composite,comprising a thermoplastic polymer; a sulfur element; said thermoplasticpolymer being a polymer matrix; said sulfur element being one or acombination of any sulfur allotropic forms; said sulfur allotropic formscomprising cyclic form, linear chain form, and any combination of thesetwo sulfur allotropic forms; said sulfur element being a sulfur filler;said sulfur filler being dispersed in said polymer matrix; and saidsulfur filler not affecting said polymer matrix's structure.
 2. Thethermoplastic sulfur-polymer composite of claim 1, comprising saidthermoplastic polymer being polyethylene, wherein said polyethylenecomprises low density polyethylene.
 3. The thermoplastic sulfur-polymercomposite of claim 1, comprising said thermoplastic polymer comprisingpolystyrene, poly(methyl methacylate), polyamide, polypropylene,poly(methyl ethacrylate) and polycarbonate.
 4. The thermoplasticsulfur-polymer composite of claim 1, comprising said sulfur fillercarrying out a function in said thermoplastic sulfur-polymer composite;and said function comprising mechanical enforcement, and barrier for gasdiffusion through said thermoplastic sulfur-polymer composite.
 5. Thethermoplastic sulfur-polymer composite of claim 1, comprising saidsulfur filler forming no chemical bond with said polymer matrix; andsaid thermoplastic sulfur-polymer composite being an alternative to apolymer with no filler.
 6. The thermoplastic sulfur-polymer composite ofclaim 1, comprising said thermoplastic sulfur-polymer composite furthercomprising a nanofiller; said nanofiller comprising nanoscale allotropesof carbon, wherein said nanoscale allotropes of carbon comprising carbonnanotubes, C60 family of buckyballs, carbon nanoplatelets and graphene;and said thermoplastic sulfur-polymer composite being a nanocomposite.7. The thermoplastic sulfur-polymer composite of claim 1, comprisingsaid sulfur filler being a sulfur nanoparticle.
 8. The thermoplasticsulfur-polymer composite of claim 1, comprising said sulfur filler beinga polymeric sulfur; and said polymeric sulfur being stable by extrudingsaid sulfur filler with said thermoplastic polymer.
 9. The thermoplasticsulfur-polymer composite of claim 8, comprising said polymeric sulfurcomprising a nanofiller; said nanofiller comprising nanoscale allotropesof carbon, wherein said nanoscale allotropes of carbon comprising carbonnanotubes, C60 family of buckyballs, carbon nanoplatelets and graphene;said nanaofiller stabilizing said polymeric sulfur's structure; and saidnanaofiller being added to said polymeric sulfur at a temperature higherthan a polymerization temperature of sulfur.
 10. The thermoplasticsulfur-polymer composite of claim 1, comprising a porous thermoplasticpolymer derived from said thermoplastic sulfur-polymer composite; andsaid porous polymer being derived by leaching out said sulfur filler.11. The thermoplastic sulfur-polymer composite of claim 1, comprising aporous sulfur derived from said thermoplastic sulfur-polymer composite;and said porous sulfur being derived by leaching out said thermoplasticpolymer.
 12. The thermoplastic sulfur-polymer composite of claim 2,comprising said thermoplastic sulfur-polymer composite comprising aphysical property of stiffness; and when measured by Young's modulus,said stiffness being at least 5% higher than the stiffness of apolyethylene polymer with no sulfur filler.
 13. The thermoplasticsulfur-polymer composite of claim 2, comprising a mass fractionpercentage of said sulfur element being no more than 20%.
 14. Athermoplastic sulfur-polymer composite, comprising a thermoplasticpolymer; a sulfur element; said thermoplastic polymer being a polymermatrix; said sulfur element being one or a combination of any sulfurallotropic forms; said sulfur allotropic forms comprising cyclic form,linear chain form, and any combination of these two sulfur allotropicforms; said sulfur element being a sulfur filler; said sulfur fillerbeing dispersed in said polymer matrix; said sulfur filler not affectingsaid polymer matrix's structure; said sulfur filler forming no chemicalbond with said polymer matrix; and said thermoplastic sulfur-polymercomposite being an alternative to a polymer with no filler.
 15. Thethermoplastic sulfur-polymer composite of claim 14, comprising saidthermoplastic polymer being polyethylene, wherein said polyethylenecomprises low density polyethylene; a mass fraction percentage of saidsulfur element being no more than 20%; said thermoplastic sulfur-polymercomposite comprising a physical property of stiffness; and when measuredby Young's modulus, said stiffness being at least 5% higher than thestiffness of a polyethylene polymer with no sulfur filler.
 16. Thethermoplastic sulfur-polymer composite of claim 14, comprising saidthermoplastic polymer comprising polystyrene, poly(methyl methacylate),polyamide, polypropylene, poly(methyl ethacrylate) and polycarbonate;said sulfur filler carrying out a function in said thermoplasticsulfur-polymer composite; and said function comprising mechanicalenforcement, and barrier for gas diffusion through said thermoplasticsulfur-polymer composite.
 17. The thermoplastic sulfur-polymer compositeof claim 14, comprising said sulfur filler being a polymeric sulfur;said polymeric sulfur being stable by extruding said sulfur filler withsaid thermoplastic polymer; said polymeric sulfur comprising ananofiller; said nanofiller comprising nanoscale allotropes of carbon,wherein said nanoscale allotropes of carbon comprising carbon nanotubes,C60 family of buckyballs, carbon nanoplatelets and graphene; saidnanaofiller stabilizing said polymeric sulfur's structure; and saidnanaofiller being added to said polymeric sulfur at a temperature higherthan a polymerization temperature of sulfur.
 18. The thermoplasticsulfur-polymer composite of claim 14, comprising said thermoplasticsulfur-polymer composite further compsiring a nanofiller; saidnanofiller comprising nanoscale allotropes of carbon, wherein saidnanoscale allotropes of carbon comprising carbon nanotubes, C60 familyof buckyballs, carbon nanoplatelets and graphene; and said thermoplasticsulfur-polymer composite being a nanocomposite.
 19. The thermoplasticsulfur-polymer composite of claim 14, comprising said sulfur fillerbeing a sulfur nanoparticle.
 20. The thermoplastic sulfur-polymercomposite of claim 14, comprising a porous thermoplastic polymer derivedfrom said thermoplastic sulfur-polymer composite; said porous polymerbeing derived by leaching out said sulfur filler; a porous sulfurderived from said thermoplastic sulfur-polymer composite; and saidporous sulfur being derived by leaching out said thermoplastic polymer.